This week I am joined by leading civil rights activist and politician Katherine Zappone. We are in conversation with Aoife Gallager from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an international not for profit resisting attacks on democracy. Previously, Aoife was was a journalist with the online news agency, Storyful.
In this episode Aoife discusses the rise of the populist right in Ireland, a country that has prospered thanks to both emigration and immigration. In the last 18 months, fuelled in part by a spike in Ukrainian refugees, Ireland has suffered riots and indiscriminate attacks on immigrants. Online conspiracy fuels the unrest.
Aoife’s work is forensic, not only uncovering conspiracies, but also forewarning communities about impending trouble. She describes her collaboration with civil society activists and organisations like the Hope and Courage Collective that make the hard yards of finding consensus in divided communities.
Aoife’s latest book Web of Lies: The Lure and Danger of Conspiracy Theories was published by Gill Books in 2022.
Ratio Talks is available on Substack, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Get in touch with us any time by sending an email to hello@ratio.org.uk.
Ratio Talks is produced with the help of sound designer Nik Paget-Tomlinson and creative director Richard De Angelis. The show’s theme song is by Luca Picardi.
Share this post